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British Racing Driver Stirling Moss Has Died Peacefully At Home Aged 90

Born in September 1929 in West Kensington, legendary racing driver Stirling Moss has died peacefully at his home in London in the early hours of Easter Sunday. His sportsmanship and legacy as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, however, will soldier on for decades to come.
Stirling Moss next to the Lister Knobbly continuation series 27 photos
Photo: Lister
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Knighted by Prince Charles in 2000 and inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame ten years earlier, Moss was gifted with a chivalry that’s rarer than hen’s teeth in this day and age. Greats such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, and Mike Hawthorn have respected Moss for his tenacity behind the wheel but also admired him for racing fair and square, no strings attached.

The Brit contested no fewer than 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, taking 16 wins that include Monaco and Germany in 1961. Moss has also competed in rallies and public-road races such as the Mille Miglia, winning the latter in 1955 at an average speed of 99 mph with the help of British navigator – Denis Jenkinson – 32 minutes in front of Fangio in a similar car – the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.

Moss crashed a Lotus at Goodwood in April 1962, putting him in a month-long coma and paralyzing a part of his body for six months. Upon recovering from this accident, he retired from professional racing but couldn’t refrain from testing racing machinery or entering the British Touring Car Championship.

“What does Moss think about the greatest of the greats in the world of Formula 1?” Well, he ranked Michael Schumacher fourth in his list, highlighting that “Michael has a few black marks on his record.” In that 2006 interview, Moss ranked Fangio as the best racing driver of all time. Ayrton Senna is second in the British legend’s list, and Jim Clark - “a very polished driver” - came in on third.

Speaking of black marks on one’s record, Moss was banned from driving on public roads for a year in April 1960 when he was fined 50 pounds sterling for dangerous driving a Mini. One year later, he was leaving for London Airport in his Ford Zodiac to fly to Vienna to race the uncompetitive Lotus 18 on Sunday.

Both Mercedes-Benz and Lister have named cars after Moss, namely the open-top special edition of the SLR McLaren and the Knobbly continuation series. Only 75 examples of the German bruiser and 10 units of the lightweight Brit were made, cementing Moss’ reputation as an all-time great.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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